Commercial &
Civil Litigation
1‑800‑847‑2013
Areas of Expertise
Civil litigation is the name for court disputes that are non-criminal in nature. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP is well known for its expertise in civil litigation. We pride ourselves on being classic barristers. This means we are comfortable in any court or other forum where disputes get resolved.Commercial Litigation
Commercial litigation often involves contractual disputes between arms-length businesses or internal disputes between a company's shareholders/partners. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers are comfortable improving a client's position to a point where the matter can settle favourably or, where necessary, take a dispute to trial. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP is regularly involved in multi-million dollar commercial litigation.
Real Estate
Parallel to Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's expertise in commercial litigation is its expertise in real estate litigation. Many of the commercial disputes in which Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP is retained relate to the purchase and sale of land. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's expertise in real estate litigation, however, transcends contractual disputes and covers every facet of real estate law. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP is fortunate to act for numerous "blue chip" builders and developers throughout southern Ontario.
Construction Litigation
Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers act on multi-million dollar construction litigation as well as construction disputes of a more routine nature. As counsel to numerous builder/developer clients, we often act for the property owner in a construction dispute. However, Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP has also acted for chartered banks and contractors.
Employment Litigation
Corporations are often involved in employment disputes with individual employees or, if the employer is unionized, unionized employees. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP does not act in union disputes, but does act for employees and employers involved in employment disputes in non-unionized workplaces. As a general rule, these disputes involve an employee who has been terminated and claims to have been wrongfully dismissed. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan also acts in employment related human rights' cases.
Administrative Law
Administrative law is the area of law dedicated to decision-making by tribunals that are not courts of justice. Examples include labour boards, Tarion Corporation new home adjudications, employment standards disputes and human rights proceedings. Generally speaking, administrative law involves cases where a party who receives a negative decision from an administrative tribunal challenges that decision before a court of law. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers have extensive experience in administrative law and have published articles on the subject. We provide administrative law services to individuals, professional regulators and government bodies.
Appeals
Each year, Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP is involved in appeal cases of provincial and national importance. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers act on appeals from cases they are involved in at the lower court level and also on matters where a different law firm acted in the court below. In addition to acting on appeals before Ontario's appellate courts, a number of Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers have appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Constitutional Litigation
In our Canadian democracy, individual citizens and corporations have a right to challenge legislation under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or, more generally, the Constitution Act, 1982. Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP's lawyers have acted on numerous constitutional law cases at all court levels including challenges to law office search legislation (R. v. Fink, 2002 SCC 61) and the Ontario Civil Forfeiture Legislation (Chatterjee v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2009 SCC 19). Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan LLP has acted on behalf of public interest interveners before the Supreme Court of Canada in Penner v. Niagara (Regional Police Services Board), 2013 SCC 19, Wood v. Schaeffer, 2013 SCC 71, and Henry v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 24.
